Replace the arid desert surface of Mars with a deserted island
and “The Martian” is essentially “Cast Away” in space, but with
slightly less emotional trauma and no volleyball (unless Wilson
is a potato covered in Matt Damon’s fictional excrement. We’ll
get to that in a bit.)

Even the promotional
posters for the two films look pretty similar, focusing on the
individual's faces.20th Century
Fox

“Cast Away,” from Fox, which is also releasing “The Martian,”
earned Hanks an Academy Award nomination for best actor.

If you’ve seen any of the trailers, you know the basic
premise: Damon stars as the cocky and confident
astronaut Mark Watney, who’s left on Mars after a dust storm
causes his team to abandon their mission on the red planet early.

He doesn't have enough food to survive. He has a limited
supply of water. Oh, and the next NASA mission to the planet
won’t arrive for four years.

There’s no way this guy’s going to make it, right?

And that’s what you tune in to watch for two hours and
21 minutes: One man’s struggle and persistence to do the
impossible and see whether or not he will make it home.

You're hard pressed to do anything but root for Watney as he’s
determined to find an answer to every problem thrown his way to
survive. You say Mars can’t grow food? Watney’s botany skills
will teach you a thing or two about growing 400 potato plants
using your own excrement as a fertilizer. Can’t phone home?
Watney finds a workaround that would make E.T. impressed. Want to
stay warm? Nothing a piece of plutonium can’t handle.

Watney refuses to die on Mars.20th Century Fox

He turns a limited supply
of potatoes into a small feast. Are you not
impressed?20th Century
Fox

The audience becomes his own personal cheerleader, stressing out
whenever he has a setback and letting out a big sigh of
relief when he’s out of danger. Myself and other audience members
were cringing, wincing, and gasping several times throughout the
film.

It’s a fine return to the director’s chair for Ridley Scott,
whose recent films "Exodus:
Gods and Kings" (2014) and "Prometheus"
(2012) have garnered mixed criticism at the box office.

A scene early on brings to mind Scott’s 1979 classic “Alien”
as Damon pulls an “alien” object out of his body. For the
squeamish, it can be difficult to watch.

If “The Martian”
sounds a bit bleak to watch, it’s not.

Don’t worry you’re not tuning in to watch a guy slowly die over
the course of two hours.

This isn’t Alfonso Cuaron’s 2013's “Gravity,”
which found Sandra Bullock lost in space.

Watney’s witty persona keeps the film lively. Whether through
numerous expletives scattered throughout the film to vent his
frustration with the Red planet or if he’s jamming out to the
only music he can find — disco, courtesy of his commander,
Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) — Watney keeps a good sense of
humor throughout the film.

Watney keeps up a sense of humor throughout the
film.20th Century
Fox

It probably helps that unlike Hanks’ Chuck Noland, who was
stranded on a desert island, Watney has the means of figuring out
how to communicate with those back home to help keep him going
and to keep him sane.

While the film is very much dominated by Damon, he’s supported by
a remarkably large star-studded ensemble: Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel
Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”), Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara (who is
basically the same character she was in ‘Fantastic Four,’ minus
superpowers), Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kristen Wiig, and Donald
Glover.

Yeah. That’s a lot of names.

Though the film puts them all to use, some of them feel like
glorified cameos. Peña is there for little more than comic
relief, similar to his role in this summer’s “Ant-Man.”

Wiig and Glover’s roles in particular are short-lived, too, but
memorable nonetheless in a few of the film’s more lighthearted
moments, including a fun nod to “Lord of the Rings” fans will
appreciate.

One of the funnier scenes
of the film with Glover, Ejiofor, Wiig, and
DanielsFox

But perhaps that’s not to overshadow Damon. Without a doubt, this
is his film.

And then there’s Mars, which looks gorgeous.

Jordan's desert Wadi Rum, known as The Valley of the Moon,
fittingly stood in for the Martian planet. The desert is a
popular destination to film movies depicting Mars.

20th
Century Fox

However, to call “The Martian” simply a thriller or a space movie
about Mars would be incorrect.

The film isn't just about Watney’s personal mission to get home,
but also the lengths with which people go to bring him home, and
that’s what sets it apart from genre films “Gravity” and
“Interstellar.”

Those guys are basically on their own. “The Martian” is this
decade’s “Cast Away,” but if “Cast Away,” took place in a world
that was constantly plugged in and online.

A few other things worth noting:

The film’s biggest obstacle

Courtesy Twentieth Century
Fox

Not well versed in science? Good luck getting past its scientific
and mathematical jargon. I was scratching my head, and I’m
sure general audiences will, too.

Thankfully, it’s somewhat limited, but even Michael Pena’s
character Rick asks his astronaut comrade Beth (Mara) at one
moment to translate her geek speak to English.

If you haven’t read the book, wait to pick it up until
after the movie.

You’ll get much more out of the movie. As an experiment, I saw it
without having read the book because colleagues on my science
team, who have read the book, saw the film ahead of me. (You can
read Kelly Dickerson’s
take on the film here.)

Reading the book beforehand would have made it more difficult to
root for Watney’s character if I knew the book’s ending.
Stress-inducing moments wouldn’t have been as frightening or
unexpected had I seen them coming.

“The Martian” or “Interstellar”?

We know which Matt won
last time the two fought in space.Fox/Paramount

People have asked me what movie is better: “The Martian” or
Christopher Nolan’s space epic “Interstellar,” which
I thoroughly enjoyed.

It’s like comparing apples and oranges.

"Interstellar" serves as an aesthetic masterpiece, a modern
day “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which was made as a love letter to
his daughter. It is, essentially, a father-daughter film. “The
Martian” plays like a love letter to science and scientists and
humanity. “Interstellar” is a movie you would only want to watch
in theaters on the big screen to appreciate Nolan’s love of
shooting on IMAX. “The Martian” will be a film rebroadcast on
cable for years to come.

See it in 2D

“The Martian” will be released in both 2D and 3D. I saw the film
in the latter format, and other than making you feel like you’re
in a dust storm that occurs at the start of the film, it didn’t
add much to the overall experience. You can probably stick to 2D
on this one.

“The Martian” is the ultimate story of not giving up in the face
of a challenge. It’s a call to action, and an inspiring one at
that.

As Watney’s character states in the film, at some point in your
life, everything will go south. You have two choices: You either
accept what obstacles life gives you and throw in the towel or
you can solve the problem.